Meditations & Mirrors (PMD)
by XRandomRpGuyX
Summary: A continuation of Reassurance, Samson and Luc happen to hear of a legendary item, the very same that a certain Grass Type Pokemon in the future is searching for. [Still feel good stuff in the PMD story line, more fleshed out this time. Enjoy!]


Meditations and Mirrors (PMDEOS)

-

Waves… always crashing into the shore. A never ending melody and rhythm to calm the mind on those who focus on it. Even from afar, the natural harmony had the capacity to wash away anxiety from the mind, and lull others into sleep too.

For a certain Lucario, sitting cross legged on the ledge of Sharpedo Bluff, it was the anchor of which he held onto tranquility and peace of mind. The morning sun had yet to peek over the horizon, only a few streaks of golden orange making its way up from the distant waters. The stars still shone faintly, and the moon and it's glow were slowly but surely beginning to fade into the sky.

As calm and serene as the scenery around him was, Luc could not shake the feeling of missing someone… a certain Pokemon dear to him but lost to the span of time. All of this meditation, after being there for almost an hour after Samson had left, he could not get the visage of a particular Grovyle from his mind. Seeing the portal he leapt into, sacrificing himself for the sake of Samson and Luc, etched into Luc's mind was the image of what he saw last of him.

And it haunted him, seemingly with no reprieve.

"Luc…?"

The Lucario's ears swiveled a bit toward the voice behind him, instantly recognizable. Luc turned in place to see a familiar avian mentor, a warm and friendly smile adorning his snout.

"Morning, Chatot. What brings you here?"

Chatot, standing before one of his past trainees, admired Luc's growth for a second. Now taller than him by almost three full feet, Luc stood apart from what he was before, a timid and shy young Riolu no more. A Lucky Ribbon hung around his neck, adorning the moderately well built Pokemon and adding a touch of elegance to him. Chatot drank in the comparatively younger Pokemon's growth with pride, feeling the grey tinge to his feathers seeping in just thinking about it.

Luc tilted his head in that dog-like manner.

"Something wrong?"

Chatot shook his head and settled besides Luc as he wrapped a wing around him.

"No, no, not at all. Just came to visit, catch up and such."

Luc pulled Chatot a bit closer and sighed.

"Thank you, it feels nice to be wanted."

Chatot nods, sitting down as his metronome tail ticks away.

"It does indeed. Is Samson around?"

Luc shakes his head and motions to the distance, the waters serene where the waves haven't caught yet.

"He's on a treasure mission, we've been looking for a legendary item for some time now. He heard about a possible location last night, and decided to check it out."

"You didn't go with him?" Chatot shifted to look at him.

Luc simply shook his head no.

"Apparently it's somewhere in Ghost Hollow. Type Matchups make that place a nightmare for me, and I wanted to stay here regardless. But you know how strong Samson is, he'll be fine."

Chatot nods in understanding, still a bit worried.

"Oh yes, that one can do more than hold his own out there." He looks to Luc once more, discerning a bit more than Luc anticipated.

"It's not him I'm worried about, though."

Luc, knowing full well what Chatot meant, let his head hang down a bit.

"Chatot… You don't have to worry about me, I'm just... being sad for no good reason."

Chatot, sensing a lie, flutters in front of Luc and nudges his head with his own beak.

"Luc, when you trained in the Guild, you had a lot of moments you were sad. And at the time, they indeed seemed to be for no reason. Over the last few months however, I thought about your journey, and saw that perhaps I was the one being too critical. Nay, I KNOW I was being too critical."

He met Lucs eyes with a wise and thoughtful gaze.

"Now that I know better, and know YOU better… you can't just tell me there's no reason."

Luc, having no real response to that, drew a breath to respond and tossed his gaze up to the ocean again.

"...I miss an old friend. One who I'm pretty sure I'll never see again…"

Chatot turned his head around to the sea, seeing naught but deep purple and the shimmering points of light reflected upon it. He looked back to Luc, more worried than anything.

"What do you mean?"

**-X-**

Ghost Hollow. Though in the future it's less dense, even more of the Ghost Type Pokemon reside in it. The shadows lurk around every corner, some of them traps to catch unwary travelers.

And yet, swishing and quickly jumping from tree to tree, stealthily and with great agility, someone makes their way through the Hollow with incredible speed. The few Ghost Types that try to stop them are quickly slashed aside, bashed into the trees, or left behind in a daze.

Once the figure stops, he reveals himself to the hidden stone entrance where there stood a rather large Golurk. The Golurk looks to his opponent, and there stands a feisty and determined Sceptile with everything to fight for and not much else to lose.

"_I'll ask you only once. __**Move.**_"

The Golurk instead readies himself in a battle stance and launches a heavy hitting blast of a Hyper Beam, which the Sceptile deftly avoids while launching a powerful Energy Ball directly at the Golurk's face.

While super effective, the Golurk barely stumbles before launching a Rock Slide down onto the fully evolved Grass Type. Sceptile rushes forwards, barely missing the avalanche of earth, and slashing across the Golurk's belly with a Leaf Blade.

Golurk stumbles and doubles over, but not before getting back up and catching Sceptile off guard with a Hammer Arm, sending him flying into a tree.

"_Gah!_"

The Golurk stood back at his full strength, leaving the Sceptile to try and get back up from that hit. While the Golurk was damaged, it wasn't enough to get him off his back, and Sceptile could barely move after that.

The Automaton Pokemon approached with each hefty step, and readied another Hyper Beam, a ball of energy gathering at its face.

_**PAKK**_!

Suddenly, and without warning, a flying Shadow Punch from below erupts upwards, and sends the Golurk flying back. Sceptile couldn't see just what had hit it, only that it did it's job rather well. The Golurk seems to power off and just lay there for now, while a familiar Dusknoir offers it's hand to Sceptile.

"**Looked like you needed a hand.**"

Sceptile groaned and accepted the hand graciously, standing up a bit shakily.

"_I did, thank you Dusknoir._"

Dusknoir nods, and as Sceptile stood back up they looked over to the halls before them.

"**This seems to be it, just as Celebi said.**"

Sceptile scarfed down a single Oran Berry, perking back up a bit with a sigh of relief.

"_It must be. Hopefully everything inside is still in tact._"

"**Only one way to find out.**"

Dusknoir led the way inside.

"**Shall we?**"

With a nod from Sceptile and no further comment, the two made their way inside. Must and damp rock scented the air and atmosphere, and only in the faint lights that echoed the halls did they look to each other. The hall lay stretched ahead of them, grand and older than they could tell.

Sceptile glanced over to Dusknoir.

"_So… Tell me what we're looking for again_."

Dusknoir, carefully observing his surroundings, growled lowly.

"**I'm not explaining it a fourth time, Sceptile.**"

The Grass Type Pokemon shrugged to himself. "_Well, what if I forgot what we're looking for? Or don't know what it looks like?_"

The Ghost Pokemon nearly throttled him, but refrained from doing so. Barely.

"**We're **_**looking**_** for the "**_**Mirror of Time**_**". Rumors of the Mirror say that you can send messages to anyone else who comes across it, across anytime. Even yourself.**"

As they continued, Dusknoir's gaze shifted up to the roof of the halls, noting the dotted sources of light coming from yellow luminescent crystals.

"**Celebi told us all she knew of it, and that something forbade her from getting it herself. But if we were to ever see Sam or Luc again, that would be how.**"

Sceptile gives Dusknoir a squinty look of "I know THAT, Duh".

"_I meant more what it looks like_."

Dusknoir would've throttled him at that point, but had no opportunity to do so as they reached the end of the cave. He simply pointed at the end of the hall and said, simply:

"**That.**"

Sceptile drew his gaze to the front of the grand chamber they had entered. All carved and brushed stone, cascading with dripping details, all the way down the sides of the walls. Obviously a great amount of care and detail had gone into this massive room…

But the object that drew the most attention was a massive mirror, built into the back wall. It was shaped almost as a regular hand mirror, oval curvature with handles on the sides. A glass ring around the entire mirror, set in the stone base it was cast in, and a gem lay at the very bottom big enough to warrant stealing. However, it had gone untouched for what seemed to be eons.

Sceptile drew in a breath of fascination, admiring the detail and looking around endlessly.

"_Arceus… This place is… Unbelievable._"

The two pressed forwards, their heads swiveling around in admiration of the room.

"**The stylings and decorations are beyond anything I've seen. And I've seen quite a lot… This might be the oldest room that I have ever been in.**"

Sceptile prodded forwards again, looking around to find a pedestal directly beneath the mirror. He drew a sharp breath and inspected the area.

"_So, you said this mirror looks like the one that's right above it?_"

Dusknoir responded still observing the chamber all around.

"**Indeed, it should be exactly that.**"

"_Alright, one last question then._"

"**Go ahead.**"

"_Where is it?_"

Dusknoir's attention focused back to Sceptile in nearly an instant.

"**What?**"

He hurried over to besides Sceptile, who stood at the base of the mirror. A slot in the wall had been carved out as a sort of pedestal, and atop the stone was an engraved space where the mirror laid.

Or, rather, should have laid. The slot laid empty, bare stone carrying nothing.

"**WHERE IS IT?!** **IT SHOULD BE **_**HERE**_**!**"

"_Someone took it? Did someone get to it before Sam or Luc?_"

Dusknoir ran his hands all over the pedestal, searching for something, anything.

"**Nonsense, Samson and Luc should be the **_**only**_** ones who know about it! Celebi said she guarded the existence of this secret chamber for eons, NO ONE could have known!**"

Sceptile paced around and started to think to himself, grumbling.

"_Ok, ok… Retrace our steps. Celebi sent a message to the past about the mirror. Samson and Luc should have gotten it, meaning they should know…_"

Dusknoir looks back to Sceptile.

"**If they know, then that means they've done everything in their power to get it. Those boys have serious determination.**"

"_If they have it, then they'll be using it and waiting for us…_"

The two looked back to each other with dawning realizations.

"_And that means…_"

"**And that means…**"

**-X-**

"My my... Sounds like this mirror could be the answer to your problems."

Chatot and Luc still sat side by side, admiring the rising sun from the ocean. It cast a shadow from the far away spires of rock, and lit the entire waters like a stage.

"It could, yeah… If it even exists."

Luc let his head down a bit, seeping back into his depressed state.

"We don't even know if it's a real thing… We just got a letter from an anonymous source talking about it, which… Doesn't exactly inspire hope…"

Chatot, the stoic leader as ever, briskly smacked the back of Luc's head with his wing.

_PAFF_!

"Ow!"

The Metronome Pokemon looked up at Luc, despite being smaller in size, he still both packed a punch and could be a bit intimidating.

"I CANNOT allow you to talk like that, especially not with what you've been through."

Luc growled softly, pawing the back of his head a little.

"Chatot… All I'm saying is I don't exactly feel hopeful in this situation."

_PAFF_! Another quick feathery smack to the back of his head.

"Dah!"

Luc lurched forwards, as Chatot shook his head a little.

"Do you remember nothing that you learned at the guild?"

Luc rubbed the back of his head gently.

"I won't if you keep _hitting me!_"

The Flying Type hopped to the edge of the platform they sat on, seeing the sun rise above the water inch by inch.

"Luc, you remember the affirmations we did every morning in training?"

The Lucario nodded and thought back a bit.

"Uhm… 1: Don't shirk work, 2: Run away and pay, and 3: Smiles go for miles."

Upon looking back up, Luc was met by Chatot's wide eyed gaze. Chatot seemed at first confused, but upon remembering back to their training days he really started to feel the grey in his feathers.

"...That's… The old affirmations… I forgot about those, actually…"

If Luc hadn't known any better, he would've thought Chatot was looking at old cringey stories he'd written when he was young.

[_I'm lookin' at you, me._]

"You changed them?" Luc regarded Chatot with a confused look, who in turn looked to the horizon.

"A month or two after you graduated actually. Wigglytuff decided some reformation of the Guild was necessary, which for him to say that is… Groundbreaking at the very least. He decided we need to inspire more hope in the trainees, giving them more motivation and drive in their day to day jobs."

Luc smiled to himself, letting Chatot continue talking.

"Therefore, we also changed the affirmations, which… Being honest, _were_ very simplistic and work driven at the time. They needed more focus on what Explorers are good at, what they excel in doing."

Luc interjected finally. "Inspiring hope, and helping others."

Chatot turned back around with a grin on his beak.

"Precisely! Fame and fortune isn't the goal, wealth and prestige are simply a bonus prize. It's getting that hope, and that light that we shine, to as many Pokemon as we possibly can."

Luc seemed genuinely curious now.

"So… What are the affirmations now?"

Chatot cleared his throat, and with a clear and resounding voice he spoke:

"I am an Explorer, and it is my duty to do what's right.

We are Explorers, together we bring the world light."

He held a wing to his chest, over his heart.

"I am an Explorer, and I will never give up."

Finally, he thrust his wing above him.

"We are all Explorers, and we will hold our hope to the sky!"

Luc observed with keen fascination, and seeing his previous tutor display a different side of him than he was used to, made him unexplainably giddy.

"That's quite a turn around, compared to what WE were used to."

Chatot shook his head.

"Well, what can we say? We got our job done, so we were happy. BUT! My point is…"

He stood in front of Luc with a more firm resolution.

"You are an Explorer, arguably one of the best of the best. You and Samson saved our world, not ONCE BUT TWICE! Dialga and THEN Darkrai!"

Chatot's wise yet comfortingly caring eyes met Luc's gaze. Luc kept his gaze with Chatot, smiling to himself.

"Luc… If anyone should keep hope in bleak situations, it's absolutely you. And even if you can't, the Pokemon you saved and inspired will do so in your stead. As your former mentor, I want you to know that I am immeasurably proud of you both, and I truly do believe in you."

Luc, unable to put his emotions into words anymore, grabbed Chatot into a firm hug.

"Thank you Chatot. Coming from you, that means the world."

Chatot, slightly uncomfortable due to Luc's chest spike, grunted and did his best to hug back.

"Rrf… You're very welcome!"

Luc, lifting his head from Chatot's head ruffles, looked to the horizon and noticed a faint disturbance in the water, getting closer and closer. He immediately popped up with excitement.

"Hey! He's here!"

Luc hopped a little from foot to foot, leading Chatot to look in the same direction, wondering where Luc saw Sam coming.

"Where?"

The giddy Lucario pointed to the rifts in the water, growing closer and a bit more violent.

"There! See?"

Chatot, upon seeing the waters ripple and come closer, fluttered a bit as well.

"I see him! Shall we meet him at the beach?"

Before Luc could respond, a great burst of water rushed up from below, just a few inches away from the edge of the cliff, as a single familiar Feraligatr landed on his feet a few feet away from them. 

Samson, wearing a blue scarf and hefty treasure bag, stood up with a bow and smiled with a big toothy grin.

"Did I interrupt something?~"

Luc nearly immediately leapt into his arms, squeezing tight.

"Hey! We were just talking about our time at the guild!"

Samson plants a soft kiss on Luc's head, picking him up and squeezing him before he sets him down. "Just catching up I see." He turns to Chatot with a smile. "Good to see you again Chatot."

Chatot hops up and smiles.

"Good to see you too Samson. Did you find what you were looking for?"

Luc noses the Feraligatr's cheek.

"Yeah, what'd ya find?"

Samson holds up a single finger, and digs around in his pouch some. He grabs onto something with a wide grin, and presents an ornate looking mirror, oval in shape and set in a grey stone, a glass ring circling the mirror and a rather large gem on the bottom of the circle. He presents it to the group, and speaks in a hushed tone.

"...I think we got what we were looking for."

Luc, Chatot and Samson gather around the mirror in awe.

"Wow…"

"That's incredible!"

"It's gorgeous isn't it?"

Luc looked over to Samson again.

"Does it work though?"

Samson sighed heavily and let it in Luc's paws.

"THAT, I don't know. There were no footprint runes, only inscriptions older than anything I've seen… there's SOMETHING on the back of the mirror, but I can't make heads or tails of it."

Luc flipped the mirror over, looking at the odd inscription on the back. Concentric circles and squares connected by zig-zagging lines formed a ring around the entire back side, but nothing made much sense.

"Huh… Chatot, you ever seen these before?"

Chatot leaned down to inspect it more closely, tilting his head.

"Hmmf… these aren't exactly anything I've come across, but they do seem to convey an order of some sort."

He points to the bottom, where a single line stands out.

"This area is first… somehow, and in... some way."

He then motions to the ring around the entire thing.

"This ring is second, and the point in the middle is the third and… I think the last step. Or so it seems…"

They flipped the mirror over again, looking at the layout that was described. Luc pointed to the Gem.

"Maybe the Gem is how we start all of this…"

As he pressed his paw to the white gem, a soft pulse of energy turned the gem red. The trio stood back in awe as it hummed ever so softly, and a gentle aura of red energy thrummed through the glass ring around it.

"Woah…" Samson leaned down to pick it up gingerly. "Guess we know it works…"

Luc peered down at it, looking at the red ring around the mirror.

"What do we do now?"

The trio stood around, scratching their heads collectively. Chatot paced around while Luc and Samson stood there with the mirror.

"Hmm… How would the sender specify who to send a message to?"

Samson scratched his jaw and looked down at the mirror.

"Hmmmmmf… Maybe we ask nicely?"

Chatot scoffed.

"Oh don't be silly, the mirror wouldn't respond to verbal commands!"

He stopped and squinted, thinking to himself.

"...Would it?"

Samson held the mirror and cleared his throat.

"Mirror, send a message to Grovyle from the future!"

Luc and Chatot stood beside him, eagerly looking towards the mirror.

The mirror, in turn, flashed red around the ring a few times in succession, then returned to it's normal red glow. The gang glanced at each other worriedly.

"It did something…" Luc tilted his head. "Maybe it didn't find Grovyle."

Samson sighed to himself and looked around the mirror again.

"Maybe the other Pokemon needs the mirror, and they don't have it yet… Maybe it was destroyed by the time they get it."

Before either of them could talk of any other possibilities, Chatot stood in front.

"Or…" Chatot swiveled around to both of them, looking back to the mirror. "You're asking for the wrong Pokemon."

Samson and Luc glanced at each other confusedly, as Chatot cleared his throat and spoke in his early morning roll call voice.

"Mirror, show me _Sceptile_ from the future."

The mirror flashed green around it's ring, and staring back at them was a reflection of one very familiar Sceptile, and surprisingly to both of them… Dusknoir.

**-X-**

Sceptile stood at the edge of the bluff, overlooking the gorgeous seas that stretched over the horizon. The waves breaking… A faint crashing… All that was missing was Luc standing beside him, reminiscing about their pasts. Sceptile could've swore that it was but days ago their adventure came to an end.

"**Sceptile, are you alright?**"

Dusknoir caught up to the Grass Type, standing by him as they overlooked the shore.

"_Yeah._" Sceptile nodded, albeit unsure if he meant it. Just thinking of the past like he was provoked a melancholic nostalgia that nearly swept him away.

Dusknoir caught on easily.

"**Well… The Pokemon of Treasure Town kept the two's home secured off, as a sort of monument for their valor. It should be untouched.**"

Sceptile looked to the staircase down into the Sharpedo's maw, his heart beating into his throat.

"_Let's find out, shall we?_"

Sceptile took the first steps down, seeing the semi renovated home in near pristine condition hit him like an Avalanche to the gut. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and just stared at it all, barely able to keep walking.

Dusknoir caught his arm.

"**Sceptile… Come. We must search for the mirror. They'd most likely have left it here for us to find.**"

Still in a sort of daze, Sceptile nodded as he snapped out of it and started to root around the room full of miscellaneous treasures. A few trinkets hung on the walls, a few chests lay full of various items as well.

Sceptile searched around for a few minutes, finding a few treasures and items of interest before he noticed the single hay bed in the middle of the room. He gravitated towards it, as Dusknoir noticed.

"**Find something?**"

As he knelt to the hay bed, Sceptile started digging through it. Pushing aside a few handfuls, eventually he picked up the mirror in question, still in mint condition as well.

"_I found it… It _was _here this whole time._"

Sceptile held it in his paws a bit shakily, deciding to set it down before he dropped it or something. Dusknoir stood beside him, curious and a bit worried too.

"**Sceptile… What do you feel?**"

The shaky Grass Type simply looked at his paws, clenching them a bit.

"_...Nervous. I-I don't know why…_"

Dusknoir put a hand to his shoulder.

"**It's alright. It's a big moment… With how much emotional impact this has for you, it makes perfect sense.**" The Ghost Type Pokemon picked up the mirror, and looked on the back. He studied the inscription carefully.

"**The instructions are as follows… I think. The inscription on here is… **_**quite**_** old. The dialect is different than I'm used to, but it's understandable.**"

Dusknoir clears his throat and reads off the inscription.

"**First, press the gem to activate, and once the ring turns red then give verbal instructions of who to contact. Once their face or faces appear, press the gem again to record your message. What the holder sees in the mirror is what the other will see.**"

After listening to all that… Sceptile took a deep breath, and took back the mirror gingerly. Pressing the gem, he waited for it to pulse to life before speaking.

"_Show me Samson and Luc from the past._"

Without delay, the mirror swirled into reality the image of Samson and Luc, with a familiar Chatot in the background. Seeing the two's faces felt like a hand grabbing Sceptile's stomach and squeezing hard. Finally casting his eyes upon them all grown up and evolved made Grovyle tear up, both with pride and sadness.

"..._That's them… They grew so much..._"

Dusknoir planted himself besides Sceptile, gazing into the mirror as well.

"**Indeed they have. Even at arguably their weakest… They were formidable to say the least. I can't imagine how much they've grown up.**"

The two heaved a sigh, until Sceptile noticed the gem now flashing green. Instinctively, he pressed the gem, and the mirror image began to move and speak.

Samson and Luc stared into the mirror a bit confusedly, but they seemed quite hopeful.

"Hi Sceptile!" Luc cheerfully input, while Samson held the mirror.

"We don't really know if this is working or not, but if it is…" He looked over to Samson, who hugged Luc to him.

"You are missed. Greatly. We wish you were here… And we want to say thank you. For everything."

Samson offered a deeply sincere and nostalgic smile, while Luc snuggled into Samson's chest.

"Thank you Sceptile," Luc glanced to the mirror with a similar little smile, albeit with a heavy tint of that same melancholy. "We miss you."

And on that scene did the mirror pause, the two gazing with loving and nostalgic gazes to the recipient, namely Sceptile.

The mirror's gem turned flashing red once more, leaving Sceptile staring at their faces and holding back tears (and failing). Dusknoir let him have his moment before speaking.

"**...Now I understand.**"

Sceptile sniffed his tears back and wiped his eyes as he turned to Dusknoir.

"_H-huh?_"

The Ghost Type Pokemon glanced to the horizon, the view from the Sharpedo's Maw still as gorgeous as ever.

"**Before Primal Dialga… You spoke of your actions being what you left behind. Even if you led a short life, you would be remembered for what you did.**"

Dusknoir looked to the mirror again.

"**...Even if we didn't make it… They would remember you, wouldn't they? In that way, your memory would be carried on.**"

The Ghost Type Pokemon looked to Sceptile.

"**Until now… That didn't really sink in. Now that I see it for myself… Now that I witness its effects… Truly, I see now more than ever… You **_**were**_** right.**"

Sceptile, still contemplating all of this, kept his gaze upon the mirror and his two previous companions. He sighed and wiped his eyes again.

"_Thank you… I just… Miss them so much._"

Dusknoir handed him the mirror, and grasped Sceptile's paws around it.

"**Now you can let them know.**"

Sceptile finally took note of the blinking red light from the gem, assumingly to send a message. Before he put a paw to the gem, he looked to Dusknoir and motioned for him to come besides him.

"_Only if you get in here too._"

Dusknoir was taken aback by the offer, confused and a bit ashamed.

"**You… Realize they still think of me as the enemy, yes? The last time they saw anything of me was when you pushed me into the past to protect them.**"

Sceptile nodded, but continued.

"_I know. But they should know what you fought for, and how you turned it all around. I think that's what they need to hear, not just from me either._"

The Ghost Type Pokemon stops for a second to contemplate his offer. He looked down, still a bit guilty, but eventually nodded solemnly.

"**...You're right.**"

The two stood side by side as Sceptile held the mirror. Dusknoir looked to his new partner, and put his hand to his shoulder.

"**Sceptile… Thank you. For everything.**"

"_No, thank you. Without you, I wouldn't even be here._"

"**Without you, I wouldn't have found clarity or purpose. I owe my life to you.**"

Sceptile glanced back to Dusknoir and offered a warm smile.

"_Well… It's all thanks to Samson and Luc I had something worth fighting for._"

He looks back to the mirror, smiling at the thought of them.

"_Sam… Luc… _Thank you."

-X-


End file.
